


what the rainbow never tells me

by glittering_git



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bets & Wagers, Community: hp_drizzle, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, HP Drizzle Fest 2020, M/M, Mutual Pining, Patronus Charm (Harry Potter), Quidditch Player James Sirius Potter, Rainbows, Weather Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittering_git/pseuds/glittering_git
Summary: When James is challenged with an impossible task—to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow—no one expects him to succeed. But what they don’t know is that James has a pretty good in with England’s premier Weather Wizard, Teddy Lupin.
Relationships: Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32
Collections: HP Drizzle Fest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much, grace, for this prompt! I hope you enjoy it:) Thank you to my outstanding beta, M, for helping me put this fic together. Thank you to the wonderful HP Drizzle mods for all of their hard work, and for being kind enough to grant me an extension. It was such a joy to write for this fest! 
> 
> Title is from Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name.

Fuck, James couldn’t believe it. He pinched himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. _That hurt_ , he thought gleefully. _This must be real._

He glanced around the pitch with awe. Although he’d been a spectator at many Quidditch matches, there was something exhilarating about this new perspective. He could see that each blade of grass was the exact same length, probably cut by a grass-cutting spell that he’d never even heard of. The three hoops at each end rose into the clear blue sky, the metal glistening in the early morning light. The stands surrounding the pitch could hold 50 times those of Hogwarts. But it was the navy-blue flag flying high that really made everything real. 

_Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore._

“We really did it,” Robyn said, bumping James on the arm. “Can you believe that we’re really here? Two of Puddlemere U’s newest recruits?” 

James turned and grinned at her. They’d played together all seven years on Gryffindor’s Quidditch team, and now they’d been recruited by one of the best professional teams in the league. 

The coach came striding onto the field, a small whistle in his hands. “Happy start of season, folks. As you well know, we’re welcoming four new players. We’ve got Robyn Johnson-Spinnet,” the coach said, and Robyn waved animatedly. “James Potter.” James waved sheepishly, ignoring the curious stares he could feel and holding his head high. Being Harry Potter’s son never got any easier; James just got better at ignoring the attention. “Frank McCullough and Bridgette Chaumont,” the coach finished, pointing to the two others who were new to James as well. 

“Welcome all. We’ll start our practice like usual.” Coach David motioned for a tall brunette girl to take the lead for warm-up. 

“Thanks, Coach. My name is Tory and I’m the captain of this team. As our new recruits will soon find out, warm-up is brutal.” She grinned fiercely. “But without it, we wouldn’t be half the team we are today.” She held her broom out and called to the rest of the team, “Everyone, brooms.” And they were off, flying high. 

James never felt freer than when he was up in the air. He loved pushing his broom to its top speed, feeling the wind rush through his hair and his eyes start to water. It was why he was a Seeker, although he hadn’t always wanted to be. Before he’d even tried out for the Gryffindor team, everyone had assumed he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. He’d rebelled on principle, but the first real Quidditch game he’d played had shown him that it didn’t matter what position his father had played—he was going to be a Seeker.

“Hey, Potter, some of us actually want to win,” a loud voice called from his left, snapping him out of his reverie. He looked over and saw someone who his dad would’ve called a _grade A arsehole_ , the look on his face just begging you to fuck up so he could demean you more. “Your name may have meant that you could slack off at Hogwarts, but this isn’t the little leagues.” 

“Fuck off. I can certainly hold my own.” James had absolutely no tolerance for bullies. “And if you don’t believe me, I can prove it to you.” 

“Oh really?” Arsehole laughed meanly. “It’s not worth the effort of beating you.” 

James was getting ready to show him just exactly who he was messing with when he heard the coach’s whistle signalling the end of practice. He sighed, but it was probably for the best. Dad would be so disappointed to learn that he’d got into it on his first day of practice. He turned his broom away from Arsehole and towards the pitch. When he landed, Robyn was already there. 

“Merlin’s tits. He was a right arsehole.”

“Yeah, he was. I hope it’s just because I’m new and it’s my first day, so I seem like an easy target.” He couldn’t imagine dealing with Arsehole’s attitude for the rest of the season. With some effort, he changed the topic of conversation. “That was a rough practice, though.” 

Robyn nodded in agreement and slung an arm around James's shoulder, using him for support. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.” 

“I thought I was in shape before this, but now.” He shook his head wearily. If this was how he felt after just one practice, he didn’t want to think about how he’d be feeling tomorrow, or in a week. 

“Hey, before you go,” Tory called. James groaned at the thought of stopping his progress towards the hot shower. “We’ve got one more task for the newbies.” 

The four newbies slowly turned around and stood in a loose semicircle in front of the captain and the rest of the team. The coach had left, but just before he’d stepped off the pitch, he’d turned and given the newbies a knowing smile.

Arsehole stepped up next to the captain and rubbed his hands together eagerly. James barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Tory jostled him a bit and said, teasingly, “Mike, knock it off. You’re being a knob and you’re scaring the newbies.”

“That’s the point.” He grinned maniacally, and James decided then and there that whatever task was presented to them, he was going to do whatever it took to wipe that smug look off the bastard’s face. “So, every year, we ask the newbies to do one simple thing.” He paused here dramatically, making eye contact with each one of them. When his gaze met James's, James made sure to glare right back. Arsehole just laughed it off, and James hated him even more. “Find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow by the end of the month. And,” he held up a finger in warning, “we’ll know if it’s fake.”

Was this a fucking joke? Everyone knew that that was just a made up Muggle story. Leprechauns were mischievous buggers whose gold disappeared after a few hours—and they did not hide it at the end of a rainbow. 

“If one of you newbies finds the pot of gold, then we’ll owe you a week of cleaning the locker rooms. But if you don’t, then you’ll owe us two weeks.” Arsehole smirked, knowing that it was an impossible task. But he didn’t know James. And he certainly didn’t know that James had an ace up his sleeves. By golly, he’d find that pot of gold if it killed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Teddy let out a long sigh. It’d been a rough day at work, full of excitable interns and shitty weather. Normally, he didn’t mind the rain—being English and a wizard practically made one impervious—but on days like today, he wondered why he didn’t just say fuck it and move somewhere warm like the Canary Islands. 

Reason number five, or well, probably three, if Teddy were being honest, walked through the door of The Star right at that second. He’d forgotten to use an umbrella charm, the daft bugger, so he shook himself off like a dog, sending water droplets everywhere. When he looked up afterwards, catching Teddy’s eyes, Teddy couldn’t help the smile that took over his face. A matching one lit up James's face when he saw that Teddy’d already ordered a pint for him. He walked over so fast that he was practically jogging, coming to a stop just before he crashed into the table. 

“Wotcher, Teddy,” James said in greeting, sliding into the booth across from him. “Thanks for grabbing a pint for me.” James took a long sip, and Teddy had to stop himself from letting his eyes linger too long on James's throat as he swallowed. 

“Slow down there,” Teddy chastised lightly as James continued to gulp his beer. “Don’t try to finish what the rain couldn’t by drowning in your beer.” 

James took one last swallow and set the pint down, raising a hand to wipe the foam off his lips. “Sorry. It’s just been a busy week.” 

“First week of training, right?” 

“Yeah,” James nodded. “And practice is kicking my arse. I thought I was in shape before, but clearly I was not prepared for professional Quidditch.” If James had asked him, Teddy would’ve politely disagreed. James had always been one of the fittest people in Teddy’s life, and he’d honestly been jealous until he’d just started being attracted. 

“I’m sure you’ll get used to the hard practices,” Teddy reassured, taking a sip of his own drink. “I remember when I first started training to be a Weather Wizard. It wasn’t as physically demanding as your new job, I’d wager, but it was still a rough transition.” He thought back to those first few months as a Weather Wizard trainee, or a wizz, as they were fondly referred to, and how he’d felt so out of his depths. Hogwarts had not prepared him in the least for the real world. Sure, he knew about the Soap Blizzard of 1378, but could he negotiate a pay raise with his employer? 

“I hope you’re right.” James smiled widely, clearly angling for something. “But you’re always right, Teddy, so…” He blinked his eyes rapidly, and on anyone else, Teddy would’ve found it ridiculous, but because it was James, he couldn’t help but be enamoured.

“What do you want, James?” Teddy sighed. He’d known James all his life, so he was very familiar when James was trying to get something that he wanted. 

“Weellll,” James began, “there’s this one bloke who’s the biggest arse, and he challenged all the newbies to an impossible task.” 

Teddy made a hand motion indicating that James should continue. 

“And well, the impossible task was to find thepotofgoldattheendoftherainbow,” he rushed out all at once. 

Teddy couldn’t help but laugh at that. There _was_ no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow—everyone knew that. It was a joke that the Weather Wizards always said— _oh, that’ll happen when gold is discovered at the end of the rainbow._

“I know, I know.” James held his hands up in defence. “You don’t have to tell _me_ twice that here’s no gold at the end of the rainbow. I know that it’s just a Muggle tale, but you have to understand, Mike is the worst. He’s one of those people who thinks that I’ve just skated by because Harry Potter is my dad. I have to prove him wrong and find the gold at the end of the rainbow.” 

Teddy just shook his head. He knew exactly the kind of person that James was referring to—he’d ran into his fair share as Harry’s godson. But he’d already known he was going to say yes, even before James mentioned the arsehole. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t make James work for it. 

“So you’re asking me to do the impossible?” Teddy teased. “Find the nonexistent pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?” 

“Yess,” James dragged out the “es” and gave Teddy his best Cruppy eyes, and damn, but it was working. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” 

“If I _do_ help you, I can’t guarantee that we’ll succeed. As much as you or I might want to rub it in that arsehole’s face, we have to be prepared for the possibility that we may not be able to find it.” 

James sighed. “Believe me, I know how low our chances of success are. But we have to try, don’t we?” 

“What will you give me if I say yes?” Teddy knew he was being a bit shameless, but it wouldn’t hurt to have the great James Potter owe him something. 

“Anything you want,” James responded immediately, heedless of the power he was giving Teddy. But, well, that was James for you. One of the brightest wizards of his age, but too damn trusting by half. 

“Are you sure that’s a great idea, giving someone a carte blanche favour?” If James wasn’t going to look after himself, then Teddy would just have to do it for him. 

“You’re not just anyone, Ted.” James smiled, and Teddy’s insides melted. “I trust you.”

“Fine. I’ll tell you what I want _after_ we try to do the impossible.” 

James's smile widened so that it spread from ear to ear, and he looked adorable. Teddy was fucked. Come hell or high water, he was going to be the first wizard in recorded history to find the damn pot at the end of the rainbow.


	3. Chapter 3

James rubbed his hands together in the chilly air outside of Teddy’s flat. He should’ve just Apparated straight inside, but he needed the walk to clear his head before spending the day with Teddy. 

Teddy’d always been a feature of James's life, being his dad’s godson and everything. And James had always been fascinated by him—first, it was the way that he could change his appearance at will; then, it was how Teddy didn’t treat him as his little brother, but as an equal; and finally, boyish admiration had turned into teenage crush and then into something so much more that James sometimes wished the earth would swallow him whole when they spent time together. 

He had to get his emotions under control. Teddy was simply doing this as a favour to him, and James would be appreciative. Even if they didn’t find the gold, he’d still be grateful that the task allowed him the chance to spend time with Teddy. 

“Sorry, I had to finish up a quick work thing.” Teddy hopped from his stoop to the sidewalk in one graceful leap. He was wearing a calf-length black wool trench coat that looked cosy. A smart purple shirt with delicate white flowers poked out at the collar. His natural brown hair with its single permanent turquoise streak flopped over his eyes, and his cheeks were rosy from the speed with which he’d come down the three stories. 

James smiled brightly and Teddy returned it. “On the weekend? Don’t you have interns for that kind of thing?”

“Usually, yeah, but this was something that required an experienced Weather Wizard.” 

“And of course you were the most _experienced_ Weather Wizard they had,” James ribbed. “Being the wise old age of 25.”

“It was in my area of expertise, you arse.” Teddy cuffed him lightly on the head. “And besides, you should be grateful. It actually gave me some ideas for how to find this pot of gold.” 

“Oh, really? Please do share with the class.”

“Well, one of the biggest problems that we face is actually finding the end of the rainbow.”

James nodded in understanding. “Because rainbows aren’t corporeal—they’re just water particles refracting light.” 

“Now who’s the Weather Wizard?” Teddy teased, and James wanted to keep doing things that would make Teddy tease him. “But you’re right. So if we knew where the rainbow ended, we’d be one step closer to finding gold. And today, I was working with a locator spell that calculated the distance between a child’s magical outburst and the related errant weather pattern. What if I were able to modify that spell to calculate the exact length of the rainbow and locate its end?”

“That sounds like it could work. I’m warning you now, though, I won’t be much help in the maths department.” 

Teddy raised his arm high and affectionately slung it over James's shoulder. James couldn’t stop himself from leaning slightly into him. “You ready to head out to Wiltshire? We’ll be able to create as many rainbows as we’d like without prying Muggle eyes.” 

“Yeah. You’ll Apparate us?” Ever since Teddy’d been old enough to get his Apparition license, he’d always Apparated them together.

“Of course.” Teddy removed his arm from James's shoulder and grabbed hold of his arm. James took a step closer, leaning into Teddy. He felt a pulling sensation in his gut and closed his eyes as they spun away.

~~~

They landed softly in a bright green meadow near the old Malfoy Manor. Teddy released James's arm and took a step back, always careful to control his actions around James.

“We’re so far away from civilization that we probably don’t need shields, but one of the first things they teach us as Weather Wizards is that if we’re going to fuck with the weather, we should always use proper protection.” Teddy barely stopped himself from winking; instead, he blinked his eyes so fast that they started to water and he had to surreptitiously wipe them. He shook his head and tried to refocus on the task at hand. _Shields first, Edward, and then you can show James what real weather magic looks like._ He held his wand high, the spells falling off his lips with practiced ease. Soon, the meadow was shrouded by a shield that appeared slightly hazy around the edges. Teddy imagined that this is what it would look like if he ever got trapped in one of those snow globes that Arthur was so fond of taking apart. “There, now we’re all set.” 

“Great! What can I do to help?” James asked eagerly. 

“Well, first things first, I’m going to create a rainbow, and then I want you to try to find where it ends.” Teddy started walking backwards, stopping when he was 50 metres away from James. “The first one will be small, so hopefully you won’t have to move much.”

Teddy closed his eyes and raised his wand high. He took a deep breath, centering his magic. On the exhale, he slowly opened his eyes and began casting. There was nothing quite like casting rainbows—multi-coloured light streamed from his wand, arcing high above, bathing the dome in rainbow colours. Conjured rainbows were purer and brighter than those that formed naturally. 

James was watching the spectacle with a look of awe on his face, and Teddy wished that he had a Pensieve so he could revisit this memory. _You’re being a cheesy sap,_ James would tease him if he knew. Teddy smiled at the thought. 

He called James's name—they had a job to do, after all. James snapped to attention immediately, as if he were a puppet whose strings had been pulled taut. He began circling the area where the rainbow would presumably end, but didn’t seem to be having much luck. 

“There’s no definitive end. It just dissipates.” 

Teddy slowly let the rainbow fade, and the sun that once felt so bright was now a bit lackluster without the added brilliance of the rainbow. “That’s about what I figured would happen. But, as I mentioned earlier, maybe there’s some kind of spell we can do to calculate where the exact end would be…” he trailed off, his mind already turning towards the values that he’d need, the people who he might be able to consult with. 

James cleared his throat gently. “You were gone for a moment there, Teddy.” 

Teddy’s lips curved slightly into a sheepish smile. He often got lost in his own head and was grateful for James for always being there to bring him back. “I have a few ideas that I want to try.” He started walking towards James. “Now, how about those maths equations, huh?”


	4. Chapter 4

James exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, laying his head gently in the sand. This was pure bliss—the sun was warm on his face and the sound of waves crashing was soothing to listen to. After another tough week of practice, and still no success with the pot of gold, he definitely needed a break. 

“Incoming,” a shrill voice yelled, and the blissful moment was ruined. James slowly opened one eye and watched as Lily ran headfirst into the water, heedless of the sand she was kicking up in her wake. 

“Merlin, Lils, watch the sand, please,” James groaned. Lily flashed him the bird and then dove headfirst back into the crashing waves. “Good thing Mum and Dad didn’t see you.” 

“Didn’t see what?” Dad asked, blocking James's coveted sun. “Do I need to have a talk again with Lily about what kind of behaviour is acceptable in polite company?”

James snorted. Dad could have all the conversations he wanted, but he’d raised a daughter who didn’t do well with authority figures. “It was nothing.” 

“Uh-huh.” Dad didn’t sound convinced, but James didn’t care enough to stop him from prying if that’s what he wanted to do. It wasn’t his arse on the line. 

By that time, Mum had made her way to their spot on the beach and was setting up the beach umbrellas and towels. Since they’d chosen a Muggle beach, they weren’t able to do much magic, unless it was really discreet. James preferred being able to cast a sunblock charm at will, but he knew how much privacy mattered to his dad. 

“Where’s Al?” he asked, pushing up on one elbow. 

“He’ll be along shortly. Said he was waiting for a message from a friend.”

“A friend, huh?” 

“James, we’ve talked about this,” Mum chided. “Al will tell us when he’s ready. And until then, you leave him be.” She swatted his shoulder lightly. 

“Speaking of sharing with the family”—his dad gave James a meaningful look—“you and Teddy have been spending a lot of time together. You know that your mum and I would be supportive of you, no matter what.” 

“Please just stop, Dad,” James protested. “He’s been helping me on a project, alright? Just leave it be.” James never wanted to discuss how he felt about Teddy with his parents, not for all the Galleons in the world. He certainly didn’t want to talk about it before he’d even told Teddy, which he’d decided would be never, so his parents would just have to deal with it.

His mum placed a hand on his dad’s arm and directed him to the towel that she’d laid out under the umbrella. James shot her a grateful look. He loved his dad but sometimes he could be pushy, especially when it came to his kids’ romantic entanglements. Mum often had to reign in his overbearing tendencies. 

James laid his head back down, ready to get back to his relaxing beach day, when Lily rushed up to where they were sitting. 

“The water’s pretty warm. You old folks should get in.” She shook herself off like a dog, as if to prove her point. 

“Lily, you’re getting me all wet.” 

“You’re at a beach, silly goose. What did you expect would happen?” She plopped down in the sand and started trying to build a sand castle, but the sand was too dry, so it kept slipping through her fingers before it could be shaped. 

“I thought that I’d just be able to have a nice lie down and enjoy the peaceful sound of the waves.” 

“You clearly don’t know our family, then,” Lily said as she poked James in the side. 

“Lils, please, I’m begging you,” James grumbled. 

“Kids, please.” Dad held one hand up in a placating gesture. “This was supposed to be peaceful. You both promised your mum.” 

James smiled in triumph and pushed Lily’s hands away, ready to relax at long last. 

“Did I ever tell you about the time that I found the sword of Gryffindor in a lake?”

James sighed. It seemed like he wouldn’t be getting that quiet after all. 

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Dad began. 

“Da-ad,” Lily interrupted. “I thought we’d decided no more _Star Wars_ jokes until after eight.” 

James snorted. She had a point, though. If given free reign, Dad would be making _Star Wars_ jokes until the cows came home. James understood, really. It was one of the few good memories that his dad had of his Muggle childhood. 

“What about _Star Wars_?” Al asked brightly, plopping down next to James in the sand, slinging his legs over James's stomach. James hit his legs, and Al retaliated by sticking his foot in James's face. 

“Get your smelly foot out of my face!”

“No,” Al refused, wiggling his toes. 

“Boys,” Mum reprimanded. “Your father was ready to tell us a story.” James shoved Al’s foot once again, and he thankfully moved it away. Merlin, his siblings would be the death of him.

“Well, it was the year that Ron, Hermione, and I were on the run. We’d Apparated to the Forest of Dean to escape Voldemort and I was dead tired. It was one of the many nights that I was up, keeping watch for Death Eaters, when a strange Patronus caught my eye. It was a doe.”

“Was it Grandmum’s?” Lily asked.

“No, it was Snape’s, but I wouldn’t find that out until much later.” 

“They had the same Patronus? Why?” 

Dad laughed. “If you’ll let me finish the story, you’ll find out.” 

Lily was quiet once more and Dad continued. “Despite the cold and the dark, and even the danger of being in the Forest alone, when the doe turned to leave, I knew that I needed to follow it. Deep in my gut, I knew that it was leading me to something. I had no clue what, but knew that it’d be important.” 

“And did it lead you to the sword?”

“Well, first it led me to a lake, where I saw something shining in the frozen water. I figured that was what it wanted me to find, but didn’t quite fancy a dive in the cold.”

Dad continued talking, but James's mind was drifting. He’d never contemplated the idea that a Patronus could lead a person to an important treasure. That was certainly something to consider with their current conundrum. He’d have to tell Teddy.


	5. Chapter 5

The second time they returned to the meadow, it was overcast and misting. Teddy had spent the past few weeks obsessing over finding the pot of gold, not just because he’d do anything in his power to help James, but also because it was an intriguing problem. An impossible problem, to be completely honest, but also one that compelled him. And what if _he_ were the one who found the solution? He’d be known for something other than being Harry Potter’s godson or a metamorphmagus. Not that he really cared that much about being famous, he just wished that people would see him for who he was, not just who he knew. It was something that he knew James understood, and one of the many reasons that Teddy was so drawn to James. 

“So just like last time?” James asked, already starting to move away from Teddy. 

“I think we’ll need to do it a bit differently. I’ve been thinking about the locator spell and how that could be combined with your idea of casting a Patronus.” 

James practically beamed at the praise, and Teddy could only smile in return. It just felt so fucking good to be the one that made James smile like that. 

“Do you think it will work if I cast my Patronus, or do you need to be the one to do it?”

Teddy wasn’t sure. “You cast your Patronus first and we’ll see how it goes.” James nodded his assent and began walking away once more. Teddy waited, his mind going through the various permutations and combinations of how this could work. 

When James reached a spot that was about 80 metres away, Teddy raised his wand to cast Iridis Pluvius. Light spilled out of his wand, illuminating the grey sky. 

James had to take a few more steps back to be at the precise place where the light disappeared, and then he raised his own wand, closing his eyes for a moment. He was ethereally beautiful—the rainbow light casting a kaleidoscope of colours on his face. Teddy knew that he’d never get tired of the view. 

In the next moment, a graceful impala was leaping out of James's wand. It stopped and turned to look at James, and James gave an encouraging nod. “Go on, you can do it.” His impala continued to stare at him, as if it didn’t know quite what to do. “Can you help us find the pot of gold?” James made the shooing motion again, but his Patronus didn’t move. After a few more moments, the impala faded until there was nothing but the glow of the rainbow. “It seems like we’ll have to try something else.” 

Teddy nodded. He wasn’t quite disappointed, as he hadn’t expected that they would get it right the first time. Rather, he was even more determined to figure it out. 

They began trying a series of combinations, with Teddy casting the rainbow spell, and then alternating between James and Teddy casting their Patronus. When it was Teddy’s turn to cast his Patronus, he’d put the rainbow under a stasis spell and then move to whichever spot along the rainbow they were trying that time. 

When he’d first learned how to cast his Patronus, it had taken him quite some time to find the right memory. Harry had been patient with him, gently guiding him through the process.

Now, after all these years, and with the person most often featured in said memory, it was as easy as breathing. He had the opposite problem from when he first learned to cast the spell—he had too many memories to choose from. His mind flitted from the first time that James had gotten pissed and stumbled around the pub, looking so warm and soft, to that one time on holiday with the Potters and that hike that he and James had had to wake up at arse o’clock for, but the sunrise had been worth more than a million Galleons. He settled on a very recent memory—the look of pure awe on James's face the first time that Teddy had cast the rainbow spell. He raised his wand and let the magic flow through him. 

A dolphin exploded from the end of his wand, turning to look at him curiously. He couldn’t help the smile that stole over his face at the sight of his Patronus—she’d always protected him when he’d needed her, and he was quite fond of her. He made a shooing motion with his wand, not expecting much. It hadn’t worked yet. 

But, it seemed like this was their lucky try. His Patronus gave one last look at him and then started gliding towards the end of the rainbow. He’d cast this Patronus from the very center of the arc, using the modified locator spell to find the exact location. The rainbow was one of the biggest that he’d casted, well over 150 metres long. 

“Well, come on then,” James crowed, already starting after Teddy’s Patronus. Teddy hastened to follow, feeling his blood thrumming through his veins. This was the breakthrough that they’d been waiting for. 

His Patronus led them past the edge of the rainbow and then further still, outside of the protective bubble that Teddy’d put up when they’d first arrived. Teddy thanked Merlin that they weren’t in a populated Muggle location. 

After they’d gone about 20 metres outside of the edge of the bubble, his Patronus stopped, turning to make sure that they were still behind her. 

“Do you think this is where it is?” James asked eagerly. 

“There’s one way to find out,” Teddy replied, already raising his wand to begin digging. James quickly jumped in to help, and they soon uncovered a literal pot of shining gold. 

“I can’t believe we actually did it.” James was staring reverently at the pot of gold, and Teddy couldn’t blame him. It was what he’d wanted, sure, but he didn’t think that their chances of success had been high. There was no recorded history of it having ever been done before.

“Me neither.” Teddy crouched down beside James, reaching a hand into the hole to stroke the gold. It felt real and solid beneath his fingertips, and he grabbed a piece and brought it closer so that he could examine it. 

James immediately reached for the piece of gold, and Teddy felt a shiver go through his body as their fingers lingered for just this side of too long. He slowly pulled his hand back, and James followed with his whole body, leaning too close for Teddy’s comfort. But Teddy couldn’t push James away even if he wanted to. 

And he never wanted to. 

“Teddy,” James said his name like a prayer. His gaze was so earnest, and Teddy couldn’t breathe. “I think that I owe you a favour.” He looked away shyly, and if it were anyone else, Teddy would call his behaviour coquettish, but it was just James. “What do you want?” 

Teddy wanted too much. That was the problem. It always had been. He gently placed the piece of gold in James's hand and moved back a few centimetres. 

“Well, I thought you’d never ask,” Teddy snarked, trying to hide how much James affected him. He wanted James so badly, and he was fairly certain that James wanted him, too, but he didn’t know how to ask. “I’ve always wanted to watch a famous Puddlemere U practice.” 

James's smile lit up his whole face. “Of course you can come. And oh,” he added, as if he’d almost forgotten, “fuck, this means that I get to rub the gold we found in that smug bastard’s face.” 

“Language, Jamie,” Teddy chastised, but there was no heat behind his words.

“Oh fuck off.” 

Teddy’d never fuck off, not if he got a say in things.


	6. Chapter 6

Robyn was giving James a strange look. He couldn’t blame her—he’d been behaving strangely all practice. He’d been unable to stop himself from showing off, knowing that Teddy was watching, and so had taken some unnecessary risks in his chase of the Snitch. 

“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.

“I’m fine.” James waved off her concern with a brush of his hand. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” He couldn’t help when his gaze landed on where Teddy was standing. 

“Ah, I see.” Robyn gave him a knowing look, and James did his best to ignore her. “Performing under pressure can get to us all.” 

“Sod off.” 

She just laughed. 

“Good job catching the Snitch, James,” Tory called. “But be a little more careful next time, no? We wouldn’t want to have to find another Seeker so soon.” 

“Sometimes you’ve got to take a risk to score,” James retorted. At her chastising look, he quickly added, “But you’re right. I’ll try not to take too many unnecessary risks.” 

“Speaking of scoring,” Mike butted in, “it seems that none of you scored a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. And since today was the last day…” He smiled meanly. “I think you all know what that means. 

“I think you’ll find that you’re sorely mistaken,” James spoke up, doing nothing to hide the shit-eating grin at the look of anger on Mike’s face. He sauntered over to where Tory and Mike were standing at the front and smugly pulled out the little pouch of gold. After Teddy had put the majority of gold under a stasis spell for the other Weather Wizards to study, James had put the remaining few pieces in a bag. He now shoved that bag in front of Mike’s face. “If you look here, I think you’ll find that someone _did_ find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” 

Mike grabbed the pouch from James with one hand and dumped the coins into his other. His movements were quick and jerky, belying the anger beneath them. He pulled his wand from his arm holster and whispered a diagnostic spell, angry when it didn’t detect any impurities in the gold. 

“I promise it’s real gold from the end of the rainbow. So I rather think it’s you who owe us.” James smirked. 

“How did you even find this?” 

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out.” James knew he was pushing Mike farther than he should be, but hey, sometimes arseholes needed to be put in their place. “I think that you’ll find I’m not one to be underestimated.” He turned his back on Mike and headed towards the changing room, smiling as his teammates made a path for him. They were probably just as happy that someone had finally beat Mike’s challenge.

As he approached the locker rooms, Teddy’s familiar smile greeted him. 

“Teddy,” James crowed, his smiler becoming, if possible, larger. “Did you see Mike’s face when I told him I’d found the gold?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if your dad would approve of me encouraging this kind of behaviour,” Teddy admonished gently. But James knew it was meant in jest, and his good mood could not be ruined. 

“My dad understands putting bullies in their place.” 

Teddy just shook his head fondly, and James would never tire of Teddy looking at him like that. 

“Did you see me catch the Snitch?” James couldn’t help but seek Teddy’s approval. 

“I did, but your team captain was right, Jamie. Quidditch is dangerous enough as it is without you taking extra risks.” 

“I’m usually smarter about the risks that I take.” He looked away sheepishly. “I just wanted to impress you.” 

An expression that James couldn’t quite decipher came over Teddy’s face at that. “You don’t have to do anything to impress me, Jamie. Just being you is impressive enough.” 

“I don’t need pity from you, of all people,” James protested. What exactly was Teddy trying to say? 

“Merlin, Jamie. I don’t pity you,” Teddy insisted earnestly. His gaze implored James to believe him. “That’s the farthest thing from my mind right now.” 

“Well, what is on your mind?” The words escaped from James's mouth without any input from his brain. Something about Teddy’s mood made him want to push. 

Teddy took a step closer, and James's heart started pounding. “There’s something that I want to do. If you’re amenable.” Teddy couldn’t mean what James thought he meant. Teddy took another step closer—he was so close now that if James leaned in a few centimetres, their noses would touch. 

“What do you want to do, Teddy?” James asked, proud that his voice barely wobbled. 

“This.” Teddy closed the remaining distance between them, turning his head slightly to line up their lips, and James closed his eyes. At the first press of Teddy’s lips, he eagerly pushed into the kiss, not wanting Teddy to get the wrong idea. He’d wanted this for so long, but had never been quite sure that Teddy had wanted the same thing. 

They pulled apart breathlessly. “So, does that count as my favour to you?” 

Teddy cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. “It could. But I _was _going to ask if you would go on a date with me, if you wanted that to be a part of it, too.”__

__“That’s not me doing you a favour—that’s you doing me one,” James protested._ _

__“How about we just call it even?” And James couldn’t do anything but agree. He felt like he was in freefall—that first moment when he’d angle his broom down and just let gravity do the work, before thoughts of stopping or the ground entered his mind._ _

__Teddy had kissed _him_. _ _

__“If you play your cards right, I just might kiss you again.”_ _


End file.
